Last Friday, March 29, Minister Guido Mantega was at FGV in São Paulo to deliver the Main Lecture of São Paulo School of Economics (EESP). The event took place at the newly opened Auditorium Itaú and honored Mantega for his significance in the economic history of the country, since he is the Minister of Finance who has been the longest in office during a democratic government.Mantega - who is also a professor at FGV - spoke about the prospects of the Brazilian economy, the recovery of the world economy after the crisis of 2008 and made comments on Brazil's performance during and after the period. According to the professor, the Brazilian performance was considered good when compared to the other G-20 countries and he mentioned the fact that the country reduced unemployment amid the global economic crisis.The Minister also addressed the growth of international reserves, fiscal policies, Brazil's investments in infrastructure and the factors and policies that resulted in the reduction of inequality, besides the reduction of gross and net debts in 2013 and inflation control. According to him, the main objective of the government's economic policy is to improve the population?s life standard. The economic and social policies adopted in recent years have helped build a social well-being state, with poverty reduction and inclusion of a part of society to the middle class, he said.Outlook for the Brazilian economyMantega recalled the importance of investments in infrastructure - that will sustain the new cycle of the Brazilian economy. According to the government's projections, between 2014 and 2022, investments will grow an average of 7% per year (in the last 11 months, the average growth was 6.1% per year). For the new cycle, the country needs to face the challenges to grow sustainably, he said, noting that the government's strategy is the effort to eliminate the deficit in infrastructure and reduce production costs.The emerging countriesThe role of emerging economies in the world was also featured in Mantega's lecture, who said that these countries gained ground with the 2008 crisis, sustained the world economy and today already account for over 50% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The trend is that these countries will continue gaining ground compared to developed countries, he said.The Main Lecture is the fourth event held at the new Auditorium Itaú - which reached its maximum capacity of 400 seats. In addition to FGV's students and staff, FGV's former student and professor, Eduardo Suplicy and former minister and EESP's professor, Nelson Machado, also attended the lecture.The FGV's president, Carlos Ivan Simonsen Leal; EESP's director, Yoshiaki Nakano; the director of São Paulo School of Business Administration (EAESP), Maria Tereza Fleury; the director of the Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration (EBAPE), Flávio Vasconcelos; and EESP's professor and the Economic Policy secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Márcio Holland, were part of the event's head table. The Ministry of Finance made Guido Mantega's presentation available at the Aula Magna. Please click here to download it.